Tribune News Network
Doha
Vodafone Qatar’s Infinity Payment Solutions (IPS), a separate financial entity and 100 percent subsidiary of Vodafone, has announced the launch of iPay, Qatar’s first licensed e-wallet.
Licensed by Qatar Central Bank, iPay is a secure e-wallet developed by Infinity Payment Solutions, in strategic partnership with Commercial Bank of Qatar (CBQ), Gulf Exchange and Paytm. iPay offers customers direct access to instant local transfers to all banks and wallets under the Qatar mobile payment network, as well as international remittance and merchant payments.
iPay is an operator agnostic wallet and is available for all consumers in Qatar, regardless of their telecom service provider. Customers can register through the iPay application, available to download on Apple and Google Play stores, in less than 60 seconds and conduct fast and secure local and international remittances with friends and family, instant merchant payments at their favourite outlets and select utility payment services.
Vodafone Qatar Chief Operating Officer (COO) Diego Camberos said, “Our new iPay solution supports Qatar’s move towards a more digitised economy, as well as QCB’s vision of achieving a cashless economy by 2030. Vodafone has responded to the growing demand for accessible digital fin-tech solutions – a trend that was observed globally in 2020 and has continued to grow in significance since then. It is also part of our wider digital transformation agenda for Qatar, aiming to support customers quickly and efficiently via cutting-edge self-service technologies.”
Earlier in August, Qatar’s Central Bank granted the first-ever digital license payments in the country today.
The bank issued the licenses to Ooredoo Money and Vodafone Qatar’s iPay so they can provide digital payment services. The Central Bank hopes to oversee all companies providing digital payment services in an effort to “contribute to the development of the financial technology sector,” according to a statement.
The digital payment license came a week after the launch of the Google Pay digital wallet. QCB tweeted that “all global digital wallet services for cards, such as Apple Pay and Samsung Pay, are now accepted in Qatar, enabling visitors especially during the world cup to process and complete their digital payments.”
